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Tag Archives: travels

…we are going to MassMOCA. I have loved visiting this awesome museum in the summers whenever we visit Massachusetts, and it’s novel to be able to just take a spontaneous day trip there now.

My digital camera is still vacationing in Providence (it’s been so hard not having it!) so I think I’m actually going to use film today. It’ll be interesting to have to wait to see the photos after being instantly gratified by digital technology for so long.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and beyond.

(The photo above is Andy in front of a Sol LeWitt wall drawing, part of an exhibit “now on view through 2033”)

I’ve always felt a certain degree of reverence for New England, and it will be interesting to notice how the influences of this new place affect my way of living from day to day. We saw so many beautiful things in our days up north last week, and considering my serious need for lovely surroundings (give me beauty or give me death!!!!), I think I should be right at home after the move.

Last night we slept with the windows open. The kitties are going crazy watching the birds and I love waking up to the sounds of Spring. Andy and I have traveled out of the state twice in the past month, and it’s been so nice to observe the changing of the seasons in two time zones. Driving back to Asheville yesterday, it looked like Spring had come in the two days that I was away, and this morning my car was covered in pollen.

I always value the insight that I gain when I return to Asheville from faraway places, and sometimes I wonder how I’d ever get any true perspective on my life if I didn’t travel from time to time. I usually come home with inspiring new ideas for how to live and interact in my world.

Several years ago I heard someone say that while it’s traditional to make resolutions at the turn of the new year, Springtime resolutions come more naturally, and we’re more likely to follow through on them. That rings true for me. Maybe it’s that I’m seeing so much new life in the natural world. Maybe it’s just easier to be creative and imaginative when I’m not wearing three or four layers of clothes.

I know for sure that my recent travels, and the warmer weather, are making me want to make stuff. I’m loving being in my studio this morning, wearing shoes without socks, and feeling excited to get to work. Doesn’t the vitamin D feel good?

Hello my friends. Summer is so hot. Andy and I are reminiscing about winter. Classic, isn’t it? But summer has been fun: last weekend we found a secluded pool at the base of a little waterfall in the middle of the woods. I had come to think that there was nowhere outside of an air conditioner or a freezer that was any cooler than ninety-five degrees, but here the water was nearly frigid. A truly unexpected gift.

My summer inspiration has largely been inwardly focused. Maybe the heat is helping to cook ideas in my restless brain, but I have also been enjoying the opportunities that summer has provided for travel and exploration. My trip to France was in May, but I want to share a few photos for my buddies who aren’t on Facebook,which is where I usually showcase the majority of my photos. (If you are on the FB, and haven’t done so already, please add Rockpile as a friend.)

In showing some photographs from the trip to friends and family, I had the thought that many of these photos might look like they could have been taken anywhere. My next thought, though, was how they testify to one of the most remarkable aspects of the trip for me, which was how enjoyable it was in all of its simplicity, and its calm and slow wonder.

So there you have it. My advice to my buddies is to skip some rocks in a river and wash your faces in a cool mountain waterfall. Lots of love.

Being away from home always offers much helpful insight into my everyday life and habits. While I don’t have any specific resolutions at this point, I am ready to be more mindful of the way that I treat myself and spend my time. After all, I have often observed that my life in Asheville feels very much like what people these days call a staycation, full of beautiful, meaningful, and fun experiences in just about every day. I missed my attic apartment, my friends, my kitties, my studio!

When Andy and I were in New York staying with my sister, Anna, before driving back to North Carolina, I showed her some photos from our trip. This one was taken in the outdoor bathroom of our favorite camp site, in Uzes. When I described it to Anna, she said, “Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong country?”

I think I might be happy to move to France, as long as I could bottle up my life and bring it with me.

I have to say that even after we saw the Mediterranean, looked down on a castle from the top of a mountain that we climbed all by ourselves, and ate lots of French cherries, bread, and cheese, the drive into Asheville was pretty damn breathtaking and even more exciting. Cause I’m a sucker for my life.